Hug Who?

This ain't your mama's pasta salad. Unless your mom has impeccable taste (like mine). This is a "cheater" recipe. A very good friend of mine (Lori) introduced me to this pasta salad a mere 12 years ago. This delectable pasta salad was being served at a small cafe called Hug Hess in Ogden, UT. I had not had it for at least 12 years, and it is so remarkable that when I was recently working in Ogden I had to hunt it down. I miraculously found the cafe, and the employees were so nice to let me sample the pasta salads they had because I didn't know the name of what I was looking for. Found it. Pasta Salad Supreme. And let me tell you; supreme, it is.

Now, this is another recipe that I do not really call a "recipe". It is a list of ingredients. Figure out the balance/ratio yourself. You can do it!

Cooked Chicken Breast - cubed. (They roast theirs, but I think I'll try grilled next time.)
Crumbled Blue Cheese (it's worth getting a good quality)
Cooked Bowtie Pasta
Cooked Spiral Pasta (they use the tri-color variety)
Raw Broccoli - mostly crowns, but some stalks are good, too.
Bacon - cooked so VERY crispy, otherwise it gets soggy and floppy. Ew.
Diced Tomatoes
Chopped White Onions
Carrots cut into discs
Kidney Beans - be sure to rinse them when using canned
Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe to follow)

Yep. Just mix it all in together, pretty much. It's really not rocket science. A good pointer: Add the dressing a little bit at a time. You don't want too much of a good thing. Also, if you have some left over (I would be amazed) store it in an airtight container - it should be good for a few days. It's also good to have some extra dressing as it gets absorbed over time.

Poppy Seed Dressing:

2 parts vegetable oil
1 part red wine vinegar
1 part granulated sugar
poppy seeds

Add ingredients into a food processor. Pulverize! Then enjoy.

...Now I'm hungry.

Pancetta and Pasta

Okay, so here is a prime example where you just throw ingredients together and you suddenly have dinner. I usually don't use recipes for pasta dishes. A list of ingredients is all you need. The measurements are to taste, and also left to common sense.

Ingredients:

Pasta (I like penne or rigatoni)
Pancetta (slpurge and get the real thing at an import deli - I recommend Caputos)
Parmesan cheese
Heavy Cream
Butter
Dried Oregano
Garlic

Directions:

Cook the pasta until al dente. Nothing spoils a good pasta dish like overcooked pasta. While the pasta is boiling, cut your pancetta (ususally bought in a big inch-thick slice) into cubes. Fry pancetta until crisp. You may want to drain the grease half way through. While it crisps, mince your garlic. Melt butter into a small pot. When melted, add heavy cream and garlic, and let come to a strong simmer. Raise heat and bring to a rolling boil, but be sure to stir or you could burn the bottom. After it starts to boil, add the parmesan cheese and oregano and stir well. Turn heat down and let it come to a light simmer. This will help thicken the sauce.

After pasta is cooked, pancetta is crisp, and sauce has thickened (a little - it won't be THICK, but will thicken even more as it cools and when it mixes with the starch in the pasta.) Dish pasta into bowl, pour sauce over the top and sprinkle generously with pancetta.

Serve immediately and enjoy!